Photo Credit: Burning Man Org
I analyze my own wants and needs and find friendship at the top of my list. A true friend from a self-aware human will be all these things (naturally). A true friend is aligned with your values. Which means they trust you and are there for you. They will be emotionally stable most of the time, except for the time you travel around the country in your 89' Ford Bronco and it breaks down in the desert without any water.
Then it’s time to be able to problem solve that shit and work together as a team. Laugh and console as your emotions get tested.
It’s a battle out there, get a fucking teammate that rides and dies, snorts milk and rides camels like a boss.
Granted, my six year relationship ended with these three circles not crossing each other often. Suffering either ends in growth or it ends in more suffering. I have found most of my anxiety as a single man is TRYING to find a partner that mixes into my own circles: emotional badassery (be really good at communicating emotions, feelings, and hard shit), friendship (being able to make me laugh and snort milk and pee in adult diapers and still show up at that 6am airport ride), and independence (being purposeful, passionate, and happy with her own life) so that I can just be the dollop of whip cream on top.